June at Lake Tahoe
First Day back to Emerald Bay, June 3, 2025
On Tuesday, June 3, we reported for duty at Eagle Point Campground, Emerald Bay State Park for our fifth summer here as volunteer campground hosts. As I write this our three months here are nearing its end. When people ask where we spend the rest of the year I tell them we host at another campground for 6 months and the other 3 we avoid our house as much as possible - at least I do!
Our site with our new sign.
After getting the RV situated in the site we then unloaded the bicycles from the back of the car and headed down to the beach to unload the kayak.
The beach at the mouth of Emerald Bay.
This beach, which is a .4 mile hike down (and back up of course) from our lower campground, is a very sweet spot for folks willing to make the trek - either from nearby campsites, or the parking lot which is a half mile up hill from the beach trailhead. I leave a kayak locked to a tree at this beach for the three months we are here, and I leave its seat and paddle locked in the woodshed near the beach trailhead. My usual routine when I go out in the kayak is to ride my bike to the woodshed, park the bike inside the shed, and take my paddle and the kayak seat and walk to the beach.
View from the overlook trail into Emerald Bay.
The overlook that has what I think is the very best view of Lake Tahoe is a little over a half mile walk from our campsite. It is always the first place I head after we set up camp and where I go most early mornings to write in my journal, to do some reading, and to begin my day in solitude.
Mt. Tallac with still plenty of snow in early June.
Freel Peak to the east, still with snow.
Looking to the north from the Overlook.
Some pretty purple penstemon blooming in early June.
Me at the Overlook - a "thin" place indeed!.
A sweet Mama bear.
And her sweet cub up a tree.
I call this mama and cub "sweet" because after seeing them on June 5 just an hour before the campground gate was opened for the season, we never saw her again. We trust that these two may actually be "wild land" bears, that is eating food in nature - berries and other plant materials, grubs, small rodents, fish - and not eating human food. While we watched them the mama bear was eating berries while the cub was up in the tree where mama had chased it to remain safe. This was the first bear we would see this season, but we ended up seeing many more, especially the first couple of weeks camp was opened. We had more bear activity from June 5-23 in the campground than in a total season previously, and lots of it was not "sweet," and some of it quite dangerous - more details on that to follow.
Bears aren't the only wild life!
We saw lots of lizards early in the season.
This one high in a tree was very close to its mate that was in a nest in a nearby tree.
The tail end of an Osprey in a nest.
An Osprey nest high up in a tree above the Rubicon Trail.
And there is another one high up keeping a look out.
And here is one arriving to its nest.
A Chickaree Squirrel.
The squirrels and chipmunks are in great abundance this year.
Sunrise on June 6.
Sunrise June 14.
Looking to the mouth of the bay on June 14, 6:00 AM.
Ready for an early morning kayak paddle.
A pretty rock garden on the shoreline.
Love the varied reflections on the water!
Looking back to the mouth of the bay from the beach where I came ashore.
A very blurry picture of a duck family swimming by.
Our beach after I returned my kayak to its tree.
Swimming hold #25 at the Old Bear River Campground not far from our house.
While Rob carried out Camp Host Duties on Monday, June 9, I headed down the hill to celebrate Ruth's birthday that included an outing to the Bear River. The closest swimming hole to our house at the Dog Bar Road Bridge had no parking available, so we went up stream to the site of the former campground. This was not a choice spot for swimming however - hard to get a deep enough hole, and the rocks were slimy and slippery, but I did it.
While I was swimming Rob met our "problem" bear for the first time in the campground. He was eating lunch at the RV dinette when he noticed something at the screen door - a bear! Right at the door looking in. He yelled and she ran off with her two little cubs. Rob spent most of the afternoon following her, chasing her, and watching a ranger haze her with non lethal "bean bag" bullets. This would be the beginning of two weeks of mayhem, multiple 911 calls, and lots of ineffective hazing to try to encourage her to leave the park.
At the "internet cafe."
So named because of free Parks wifi is available here.
View from near the campfire circle, June 10.
Lower Eagle Falls is still quite visible, and audible.
Lower Eagle Falls, June 13.
Still lots of water in the falls, but that will change.
June 21 - fresh snow on Jake's Peak and my mountain.
Saturday afternoon, June 21, a totally freak storm blew in from the north bringing rain and then snow that we could see outside our motor home while we stayed inside cozy and dry. It also brought high winds and deadly waves across the Lake. Many boats were capsized, damaged and destroyed that day, especially at the south end of the lake. Tragically one boat was swamped off of Rubicon Point and 8 of the 10 on board were drowned. Social media was full of ridiculous finger pointing in its aftermath, but it was truly an unprecedented event, and multiple families are grieving the loss of loved ones.
Bears are generally solitary - the exceptions being a mom and cubs and a pair during mating season. So it was quite unusual to see six different bears in one day, and even more unusual for me to get pictures of all of them, beginning at 6:00 AM on June 13 when I was on my way to the Overlook.
As I approached this two bears scattered away.
I think these two were most likely a "couple."
The larger male bear that ran from the dumpster
And the female.
These two scared away easily, and weren't seen again after their garbage day appearance.
The bears were able to push up this lid far enough to reach in and pull out the garbage.
Another dumpster raided by the same two bears.
This one was left unlocked by a camper.
Ron, our partner camp host, and I cleaned it up.
This was bear number 3 on June 13.
I share this picture because of the view of the bottom of its paw.
This is the same bear as in the last picture - note how scrawny it looks!
We only saw this bear one day, and clearly it was very unhealthy.
Just like with humans there are a variety of reasons why a bear's health may be compromised, but the overpopulation of bears in the Tahoe Basin and the reliance on human food by too many of them are big factors is many health problems for our Tahoe bears.
One of the two cubs of our problem mama bear.
I did get a picture of both of the cubs in this tree,
but in this picture the other cub is on the backside of the tree.
Here is the mother.
A different bear, early morning, June 18.
A different bear in a tree, June 18.
And another bear, June 18 walking by a campsite.
Mom and her cubs, June 18.
Mama bear on a hillside above a campsite after Rob and I had both chased her.
June 21.
Because of the high incidence of bear sightings and problems I kept a "Bear Journal" in which I had multiple incidents described. On Tuesday, June 10, only the second day this family of three was seen in our campground, one of our park aides encountered her and her two cubs exiting a car. When the aide tried to scare her away, something he was very experienced doing, she charged him several times. These charges are called "bluff charges" because the bear doesn't make contact with the human and backs up, but one of our rangers says in his opinion, "A charge is a charge." There was a child in the back seat of the car the bears were exiting. The bears did not harm the child, but the family did not feel safe camping with this persistent mother bear so they packed up and left. Due to this incident and many others where positive identification of this bear was made, a deprivation permit to trap and euthanize the mother and send the cubs to a wild life rescue organization was requested and granted. But for almost two weeks she continued to be a serious problem in the campground. She stole food in front of people, would hang out close to a campsite until campers felt too intimidated to stick around, and she opened every single unlocked car door she encountered, including a camper van where a family of three was sleeping. When the occupant yelled at her she did run away.
Rob and I chased her away from campsites many times, but she rarely went far. She received many bean bag bullets in her rump, but that only caused her to run over the hill to another campsite. It was considered just a matter of time before she harmed someone. All campers with reservations were sent emails alerting them to the behavior of this very persistent bear and her cubs, letting them know they could get full refunds if they chose to cancel their reservations. Several campers packed up and left early after being frustrated by her persistence. To her credit, if vehicles were locked and all evidence of food and garbage were removed she would not spend any time in those campsites. We were all doing our best to warn campers and make sure all food and trash was secure.
A large trap that was placed at the back of our parking lot on Monday, June 16.
A second trap placed later in the week when the first one failed.
Though traps were placed, the mama bear and cubs were not captured. They had entered a trap, but the door failed to close. Rob and I were asked to check the traps a few times a day - they didn't want animals trapped for long in the heat of the day. Then we were asked to disarm the traps because of a shortage of personnel to deal with trapped bears on the weekend.
On early Sunday morning, June 22, Rob and I were aware of periodic horn honking in the campground which meant a bear was making the rounds of campsites. We stayed in bed and dozed until 4:30 AM when we heard our RV door and screen door being opened. Immediately knowing that it must be the persistent mama bear we jumped out of bed. I was first up and yelling at the bear like I always do and moving to the door. There she was at the bottom of the stairs looking at me, and instead of running away which is normal bear behavior she charged toward me up the stairs and swiped my hand, and then she backed down the stairs. I apparently knocked Rob down when I backed up, but he came around me yelling and looking bigger than I'd ever seen him. He said she was at the bottom of the stairs and just looking at him - afraid she was going to come up the stairs again we both were trying to figure out what to throw at her. Rob grabbed a pan of water that was in the sink and threw it on her. Whew! She then left. We closed and locked the door and sat down to process what had happened - this behavior really crossed a line. Our first year here as camp hosts the heard the head ranger tell us it was just a matter of time before someone was injured - I never expected it to be me. It was not a serious injury, but it was a pretty good scratch. After cleaning the wound I stayed up and Rob went back to bed.
Bear Claw scratch.
It was a bit big for a bandaid, but with a few I managed to get it covered.
I knew this incident had to be reported to our wild life management team and the duty ranger, so I sent a text off to them. I got a call back saying it had been reported to CDFW (California Division of Fish and Wildlife) and that a warden would be coming to take a report and gather DNA evidence. I was encouraged to seek medical help, but didn't think I needed it. About 8:30 I walked through the campground to find out if the bear had caused any other problems. She had.
The bear had opened the unlocked door and ripped the door panel off.
We have never seen damage like this unless a bear had gotten trapped in a car.
She had not. Clearly her bad behavior was escalating!
I continued my walk through the campground and went out to the Overlook, looking to Rubicon Point where the boat tragedy had happened the afternoon before. I could see boats still searching the area of the accident as not all the victims had yet been recovered. I was deeply aware in that moment reflecting on the drownings and our bear's behavior of the untamed nature of nature. I always know that, but these incidents brought that home in a new way. So many come to the mountains and lake expecting a controlled, thrilling Disneyland adventure, but this is a wild and largely untamed place.
The CDFW warden arrived, took a report, gathered DNA evidence and said that wardens and rangers would be in the campground to try to dart the bear with a tranquilizer since the traps were not successful. He again encouraged me to seek medical assistance, but I still didn't think it was necessary. Rob reminded me that I should check to be sure my tetanus vaccinations were up to date so I called Kaiser advice nurse. Tetanus was current, but after consult with a doctor I was told I needed to go to an emergency room even though I did not think it necessary. So off to Barton Hospital in South Lake Tahoe we went. They don't get very many bear injuries so I was a curiosity to staff. The doctor consulted with Public Health and it was strongly advised that I get the Rabies vaccine, and the doctor agreed, even though bears are not known to carry rabies and no rabies have been reported in our area. So I began the series of four shots. The first was a bit traumatic as it was injections at two sites - the first in the upper arm (no big deal, just like a flu shot) and then the doctor had to try to inject a large vile of medication all around the would site - that was quite uncomfortable. I would need to return in 3 days for a booster in the upper arm and then again in another 7 days, and then 7 days after that. I left the hospital with a ridiculously big bandage and the diagnosis of "scratch."
On Monday, about noon, one of our state park rangers was able to fatally shoot the mama bear. A very sad, but necessary outcome. It was not something anyone felt happy about. And the ranger shared with us that after he had shot her he sat with her body and talked to her, telling her she was teaching her cubs all the wrong things, but that we were now going to help her cubs. The cubs were trapped later that day and sent to Gold Country Wildlife Rescue where they will be conditioned to be wild bears - it is the best outcome possible for them, and hopefully next summer they will be released back into the wild with wild bear foraging skills.
We heard from our park ranger that the report initially was going to say the injured person was the camp host, but gratefully State Parks asked it to be changed to camper. I am so glad they did not name me more specifically, especially based on the threats that the ranger and wild life specialists received after the incident. If an injury was going to happen to anyone I was truly grateful it had happened to me and not to a camper, especially not to a child.
3 days later.
I am hoping for a scar to remember this, but alas, two months later it is pretty faint.
I returned for the second rabies vaccination on Wednesday, June 25, but that was the last one I got because the necropsy report came back negative for rabies. After the removal of this bear and her cubs from our campground bear activity dropped to almost nothing.
On our days off (3 days on, 3 days off) we enjoy a variety of activities in the park and elsewhere. For the first time at Tahoe we went bowling on one Sunday afternoon and had a lot of fun and thought we'd make a habit of it, but alas we haven't made time for that.
Getting ready to bowl, Sunday, June 15.
Bowling.
Umpire and Hiker - I won this one.
And Rob won this one.
Celebrating with our first Camp Richardson Ice Cream of the season.
I often begin a day off morning with a kayak paddle or a hike - leaving long before Rob gets up while he takes advantage of not having to be on duty at 8:00 AM and sleeps in a bit.
Upper Eagle Falls, Monday, June 16, on my way to Eagle Lake.
My first hike of the season into Desolation Wilderness.
On this day I began the hike in our campsite, hiked down to Emerald Bay, then up to Hwy 89, across the highway and then up the Eagle Lake Trail to Eagle Lake - total distance one way of about 4 1/2 miles.
An obstacle on the trail, but not too hard to cross.
Eagle Lake.
"My" mountain as viewed from the lake shore.
On the way back down the trail.
In addition to our regular campground duties of checking campsites, reminding folks of the rules, persuading bears to move on, selling firewood and answering questions I also escort folks with ADA qualifications down to the bottom of Emerald Bay for time at the beach, visitor center and Vikingsholm tours. While folks spend two or three hours I do a variety of things: hike in the area, utilize the visitor center wifi to write on the blog, read, draw, and visit sometimes with Steve and Lisa the boat camp hosts this summer.
This rock with a mouth has varying decorations!
More of nature's art along the trail.
Fannette Island as seen from the Rubicon Trail on the way to Boat Camp.
The ever changing beauty and colors of Emerald Bay water.
Stellar Jay on a post by the bay.
The last weekend in June was the California-Nevada Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, so I left Rob for four days to fend for himself at Eagle Point Campground while I joined colleagues and friends to reconnect in Sacramento.
Cactus blooming on the state capitol grounds near our conference venue.
The cactus garden.
Animals in Roseville and Big Basin State Park:
Elsie in her observation tower in Roseville.
Onny keeping the mouse population down at Big Basin State Park.
The presentation.
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